From Cindy Rushton's Desk(TOP!)!

Restoring Balance To Completely Overloaded Lives!

By Cindy Rushton

     Ever had an “unbalanced tire?”  Recently, I had a tire that was driving me crazy! It made the ride horribly rough.  I was wore-out just from trying to drive to town because it kept pulling me off the road—obviously in the wrong direction! Just a simple trip to town was completely stressful. My hands were blistered from trying to hold on to the steering wheel the whole way to town and back! I was certain that my car was about to blow up…that something was permanently wrong!  Imagine my relief to find that my problem was from one tire that was out of balance! Easy to fix.  The smooth ride only took a few moments to restore.

     Ever had an “unbalanced life?”  Well, the similarities are unbelievable! Talk about a rough ride! Talk about a pull in the wrong direction! Talk about stress! Sure it is easy to fix—but, oh so hard to do! 

     We are overloaded! Every area of our lives suffers from overload: commitments… possessions… work… information…relationships!

     We are a culture that can be characterized as overloaded!  We are busy. Hurried. Overworked. Stressed. Rushed. We exceed our limits. We take on WAY TOO MUCH! As my pastor says, “We write checks that our body and mind cannot cash!”  Our productivity suffers. Our bodies suffer! Our vital relationships suffer. We no longer can hear God as He whispers direction, encouragement, and wisdom along our path. We miss the best! We wonder why we end our days empty and without meaning or accomplishment.

     We forget what is most important—or at minimum, put it off for another day.  The important seldom screams for attention, but the urgent, often insignificant, constantly screams for MORE and more! We get so busy and distracted doing the urgent and demanding in life that we lose the opportunity to impact the important, that in which we are given to leave a legacy!

     So, how on earth do we get out of this rat race? How are we to restore balance? If we could restore balance, how could we maintain balance?  How could we make life really count for something?  Here are some things that the Lord has been teaching me this year as He has pulled me back from so many GOOD things to restore balance and keep me on the path to leaving a legacy!

SLOW DOWN!

     Does that one hurt or what?  We are so fast paced! We live on the “fast track!”  Think of the rat race we live in:  one-hour print…ten-minute oil changes…instant cameras…instant potatoes…instant MICROWAVE meals! Our homes have dishwashers, slow-cookers (don’t be fooled by the name—turn them on as you run out the door for work and have a healthy meal ready to serve at the end of the day!), microwaves, and computers!  Oh, and the computer thing! Yep, I am on my computer now (at our local coffee shop—yep, priorities are nice at times!) enjoying the benefits of my blessed computer complete with its battery, cd-writer, and all of the other MUSTS that I am so spoiled with!  BUT! For heavens’ sake…think of how spoiled we REALLY are! The computer age has taken over sweet little country stores! We have the Internet (which has faced the demand to have MORE instant connections—remember all of those ads this summer?), E-mail (to instantly communicate!), E-books (to instantly receive our products so we don’t have to wait for the dreaded postal service to deliver!!), E-zines, Auto-responders (didn’t REALLY think those were REAL people there all hours of the day and night??!!), Auto-processing of orders/credit cards, and don’t forget Instant Messenger—for those who find Email to be too slow! We have “Drive-Thru’s” for EVERYTHING—food, cleaners, pharmacies, oil changes, and even (PLEASE GASP WITH ME!) funeral homes!  Well…that is where I drew the line! Drive-thru funeral homes!  Where are we as a culture? On the fast track!

     What do we do?  Why not Slllllooooowwwww DDDDoooooowwwnnnnn???  I am not advocating that we STOP using technology. Rather, we should use those tools to make life easier and to make the most of our time. HOWEVER, where it really matters—relationships, home, family, homeschooling, our witness, life…where it REALLY matters, we must slow down!  Restoring balance and eliminating overload is simply not possible without slowing down!

     Ephesians 5: 15-16 says, “Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as the wise (sensible, intelligent people), Making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil.”  What does this look like? Well, let’s go back to Genesis 33 for a look at the life of Jacob after he completely surrendered his entire life to the Lord.  “My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die.  Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant: and I WILL LEAD ON SOFTLY, according as the cattle that goeth before me and the children BE ABLE TO ENDURE, until I come unto my lord at Seir.” Want to slow down, but how? Where do we begin? What can really make a significant difference? Try these:

©       Decide what is MOST important!  Think over life for a little while!  What is it that only YOU can do in this life? Why did God create YOU? What is your life purpose? What is it that God created YOU to do?  What can go?  Just as our house cannot be cleaned without getting rid of the clutter—otherwise all we are doing is shuffling the clutter around—likewise, we must take an occasional inventory to de-clutter our life!  I find this to be a battle JUST as many of you probably do and trust me, this is a life principle that I really stick to! Long ago, God impressed upon my heart that if I were going to be able to truly fulfill my calling that He had for my life, I would HAVE to only do the things that *ONLY I* could do—if it were something that anyone else on earth could do, it would have to go!  Still, I will go through periods of my life and begin to get overloaded again only to find when I evaluate the value of all that I do, there are things that sneak into my schedule that vie for my focus and energy! Usually that requires that I take out those really tough pruning shears again to cut back—either by delegating the tasks to someone else so I can be more productive at what ONLY I can do—or even more difficult, get rid of what is overloading me! I know that this is hard, but it is SO key! Take a deep look now at what you are doing.  Is it really eternal? Is it the “main thing?” Is it essential?  Can anyone else do it?  Is it hindering you from the very best?  Decide what is most important. You won’t be sorry!

 

©       Examine Your Lifestyle! Take a little while to jot down a journal of what makes up your day? Your week? Your month? Your year?  REALLY BE HONEST!  Do those things count?  What are the days filled with: things that are really important…or lots of fires to put out?  Take a bit longer to write out what you would REALLY like to be accomplishing.  What do you think that a “perfect day,” if it were possible, would look like? How can you change your day to really slow it down so your life really counts?

 

©       Examine Your Motives! Motives will fool us in a heartbeat! Scripture is so very true as it warns us to beware of our heart. We simply cannot trust our hearts. They will lead us astray every time!  What really motivates us? What drives us? If we can determine this, we can evaluate activities and obligations much more effectively!  So, what drives you?  Ambition? Your life call? The desire to be in control? Don’t trust others to do things? Passion? Guilt? Ego? Insecurity (Can’t say “no?” Afraid that you have no value unless you are “seen” busy?) Constantly trying to please others?  Revenge? Money? Oh, I could go on and on…motives are so very deceptive and there are so many. What is your motive? What drives you to do all you do?

 

     Busyness does not mean that we are accomplishing. Nor does busyness guarantee fulfillment.  Often, busyness is the very thing that keeps us from the very things that will bring us satisfaction, fulfillment, and contentment.  Busyness, given the chance, will keep us from fulfilling our life purpose!

     It is all up to us! We can choose which way to go! Enjoy the journey or wait to enjoy the brief delight of the destination? A wasted, bitter, defeated life or a life full of purpose and meaning? Burn out or real accomplishment? Deep, passionate relationships or very real regrets?

     Why not slow down?  Relax? Enjoy the whole journey—the process getting there AND the destination! Build deep relationships! Stick to those priorities! Simplify life so you reach for the very best!  Seize each moment!

Redeem The Time!

     Time! Friend or foe? Have enough time in your day? Or are you a truly kindred spirit, asking God for just a few good 80-hour days and the energy to use them to the fullest? Ha!  I have a good feeling that if your prayer is for that one, that you will also find that God will whisper sweetly in your ear to say that the problem is not that we do not have enough time…or that we are using time to the fullest…or even that we waste time. Rather, He would say that we need to make it our ambition to redeem the time—each and every moment we are given! 

     A few months back, my pastor taught a series of messages entitled From Burnout to Balance.  In his series, he challenged us to look at time as a great big “bank account.”  He said that this account is one that we are guaranteed to have daily deposits made on our behalf by God each and every day.  We each get our fair share.  No one gets more. No one gets less. 

     Think of this awesome gift! Each and every day we are given a gift that can impact all of eternity—or be squandered away into oblivion.  Each day we are given this gift without any regard to our stewardship from the day before! TWENTY-FOUR HOURS! ONE-THOUSAND, FOUR HUNDRED, FORTY MINUTES! EIGHTY-SIX THOUSAND, FOUR HUNDRED SECONDS!  Deposited in our “account” each and every day!

     And…with this gift, we are free to use it in any way we choose.  We can waste it or use it wisely.  We can make a difference---or misuse it!  But! One thing is guaranteed each day with all that is deposited on our behalf—it must be used up before the end of the day…it cannot be carried into tomorrow!

     We all have 24 hours put into our spending account each and every day.  What we do with that time is in our hands! Will we be faithful? Will we use it wisely? Will we make it count for eternity? Will we use our gift to the fullest? Will we use our gift for what really counts? 

     If we want to live a life of balance, we must guard this precious gift!  We must measure our time as one of our greatest resources we have to invest in this life!  This requires that we go back to our precious Giver and seek HIM for how we can most faithfully invest each moment! We must let Him be the Lord of our schedule, our to-do’s, our calendar.  We must commit our way---ALL OF OUR WAY—to Him from our work to our studies that we pursue to our commitments to our books that we read to the activities that we participate. 

     We must be careful to set a guard on our time to be sure that we do not flippantly do without thinking or take on too much that we forfeit the best!  We need to purpose to really do those things that are “NEEDFUL” (remember Luke 10: 38-42?) and not just the “stuff” that we think MUST be done! We need to constantly evaluate our choices and weigh them to see if they are truly those things that help us to reach our life call. 

     Time…what do you think? Redeem this precious gift so our lives can be balanced? You bet!

Sell Out COMPLETELY To God’s Will!

     Does this scare you to death? Are you seeing visions of little grass huts…no electricity…bugs…complete with the stench of underarm odor?

     Oh, beloved! My first image of total surrender to God admittedly envisioned life on a continent that was far, far away from all of the comforts of home. Still have no idea if there is a continent that could be as disgusting as my visions were.  Sure, I trusted God for eternity, but never thought of heaven in the same way that I thought of my life on earth totally surrendered to Him!

     Now, as we move into our 11^th year as a ministry (and Harold finishes up his 1^st year FULL-TIME with us!), I HAVE to tell you that God has a very, very good plan for us!  He does not call us, equip us, and then send us to an assignment that forfeits our trust and confidence in Him!  In fact, one thing that I am thrilled to say is that although there IS work in our calling, there is delight and fulfillment that cannot be found in anything else under the sun! Seeing His provision is unbelievable. Watching His anointing fall is indescribable!  Plus! No grass huts so far!

     Give your ALL to God!  Sell out! Don’t hold anything in reserve!  Abandon ALL for the call!

     Scared? Just give Him a try! Take a look at Jeremiah 29 in The Message Bible.  God says to us, “I know what I’m doing, I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen.  When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.”  Oh, beloved, not only will you never, ever be disappointed, but you will find that His GOOD plan will be truly good--satisfactory for you, satisfying, fullfilling, completely sufficient!

     Wonder JUST WHAT could YOU do?  Too young? Too old? Too poor? Not qualified—or so you think? Well, beloved! Know that God has called each and everyone of us to function in His Body.  We are the mouthpieces here on earth for Him. We are the feet for Him. We are the hands here in our community for Him! He has called and equipped each and every one of us to be a part of His Body here on earth! We each have talents, spiritual gifts, natural bents and interests, and experiences that can minister to those that are growing in the Body AND those that need to join the Body of Christ!  God needs ALL of us working and functioning properly if His Kingdom—His way of doing things—will come to earth!  He needs for us to be that light that shines in the darkness to bring others to Him.  Just go into a dark, dark room… Light one candle… See what a difference YOU can make right where you are!

     Have no idea what His plan is for you?  Take a look at Romans 12: 1-2.  He promises in verse two that YOU can know His good, perfect, and acceptable will for you!  Yes, YOU can know that plan!  How? Going back through this passage, we see how:

©       Become a living sacrifice—EVERYDAY!  Completely yielded. Completely dedicated. Completely committed to Him and His Way!  Giving Him our ALL! All that we are: our plans…gifts…bents…talents… ambitions… ideas… methods… techniques… fears… delights…concerns… all presented to God as a living sacrifice EVERY SINGLE DAY! If we truly desire to know the good, acceptable, perfect will of God for ourselves or our children, we must first obediently present ourselves as a complete, living sacrifice.  There may be things in our lives (things that are very precious and difficult to get rid of) that must be burnt up as a sacrifice for us to be prepared to receive God’s very best OR we may find that what we bring to sacrifice before the Lord is acceptable in His sight and can return home with us (like Abraham as he willingly prepared to sacrifice his beloved Isaac).  However, the key is not in what God does with our sacrifice, it is in our heart coming before Him daily, presenting ourselves and all that we have before His throne!

 

©       Don’t not conform to the world; but conform to Christ!! Yep! We either conform to the world or to Christ! We cannot live for one without forsaking the other!  Want to know God’s plan?  Let go of the world’s standards, the world’s ways, the world’s requirements, the world’s traditions, and the world’s bondage. Let go of the lies of the world! We must stop serving the world at the expense of becoming ALL that God wants for us to become! If we want to live an abundant life—a balanced life—the world’s way will never work!  Only God’s way brings balance, freedom, and true, abundant LIFE that we are really searching for! As we grow in relationship with Christ, daily become LIKE HIM, we find security and LIFE! We find peace! We find hope! We find the direction that we have been looking for all along the way!  We find freedom to become ALL that God designed for us to become! Talk about LIFE! We move beyond balance to abundant life! 

 

©       Be transformed by the daily renewal of your mind! The last key to getting to know God’s plan!  However, this one is SO VITAL!  If we truly want to live a balanced, abundant life, we must sell out to God’s will. BUT, however much we want to sell out, unless we truly let Him change our life, we will just spin our wheels in the same ruts, never becoming all that God wants for us to become! How is our mind transformed? Life changed? This life transformation begins as we sit at the feet of Jesus.  As we daily immerse ourselves in His Word, we will begin to be transformed.  Then, we will soon have different priorities… different beliefs… different ambitions… and soon, we will be able to prove what is good, acceptable, and perfectly in the will of God.  If we never experience this transformation, we will always find ourselves burdened under a yoke of bondage.  We will always find ourselves looking in all the wrong places for direction, approval, meaning, purpose, and rest!  We will constantly battle overload. We will find life bumpy and pulling us into life’s “ditches!” 

     God has a precious plan EVEN for you! Surrender ALL to Him! Let Him have it all! Let Him do His work in you! Don’t rush! Don’t drag around! Don’t run from it!  Live EACH day letting Him have your ALL in complete abandonment! Balance will come—but, beloved there is so much more that will rush into your life! Purpose, meaning, abundant life! Go for it!

Build Margin—Breathing Room—Into Your Life!

     Ever been at rock bottom?  We see many of our favorite Bible characters that we get to know during good times, but I think my favorites are those that we get to see when they are rock bottom, with NO breathing room, at the point that my mother would have said, “I’ve HAD IT!”  Ever just “HAD-IT?”

     Imagine for yourself the grief and utter pain that Job was experiencing as he cried out in Job 3:26, “I have NO peace, NO rest, NO quiet!”

     Drop into the conversation with Paul as he declared that he got to his “breaking point” in 2 Corinthians 1: 8-9, “For we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about the affliction and oppressing distress which befell us in the province of Asia, how we were so utterly and unbearably weighed down and crushed that we despaired even of life itself.  Indeed, we felt within ourselves that we had received the very sentence of death, but that was to keep us from trusting in and depending on ourselves instead of on God Who raises the dead.”

     Finally, journey back to 1 Samuel as we are first introduced to Hannah at the point of utter desperation—you probably know a bit about her story. Barren. Broken. Taunted (by her husband’s other WIFE!! Who had NO problem bearing children!). Empty. Crushed in soul. Oh, let’s join her at the point that she had “HAD IT!”… “Crushed in soul, Hannah prayed to God and cried and cried—inconsolably. Then, she made a vow: Oh, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, If you’ll take a good, hard look at my pain, if you’ll quit neglecting me and go into action for me by giving me a son, I’ll give him completely, unreservedly to you. I’ll set him apart for a life of holy discipline…” As she was praying, she sunk even lower as she was completely misunderstood by the priest, who thought she was DRUNK!  We hear more of her heart in her reply to him… “Oh no, sir—please! I’m a woman hard used. I haven’t been drinking. Not a drop of wine or beer. The only thing I’ve been pouring out is my heart, pouring it out to God.  Don’t for a minute thing I’m a bad woman. It’s because I’m so desperately unhappy and in such pain that I’ve stayed here so long!”

     Relate?  I know that these precious vessels were crying out in the midst of trials and life events that were too much. However, I don’t think that we find ourselves at the point of desperation without first pushing limits for quite some time!  We haven’t got margin to deal with the daily-ness of life—much less those life struggles, crisis situations, losses, and persecutions that inevitably knock most of us off our “rocker” into despair!

      Think about it…if you are the average person in our society today, you live on fast-food, crazy hours, no sleep. You are chronically rushed (or late), overworked, exhausted, overloaded! What is the solution?  Build MARGIN! Build some BREATHING ROOM!  Simplify life so there is room for change…space for disruptions.  How?  Here are some suggestions that I am trying to implement in my own life:

©       Accept HUMAN Limitations! 

Yep! Check it out here:

 

http://www.CindysDesktop.com

 

See ya there!

 

 

Our NEW Time For Tea Ezine! Time for Romance! Romance! Surfin! Love!

12:14 PM, Feb. 14, 2006 .. Posted in Our E-Magazines .. Link

 

Yep! My new issue is OUT!

 

Check it out here:  Cindy's Desktop!

 

Articles...links to neat ideas on the web...AND our NEW special! Grab a cup of tea and check it out!

 

Love,

Cindy

 

 

Woohoo! We are GROWING!!!

12:05 PM, Feb. 8, 2006 .. Posted in Our E-Magazines .. Link

 

Hi everyone!

Today's ezine will have some very neat treats for all of you! :)  I have some things that we need to share...In fact, this issue is a bit different! We are going to have a few FREE goodies! Yep! This issue will include some FREE AUDIOS--Of course, you will have to visit our NEW website to get it FREE! I am sooo excited! Just stay tuned here...

 

We get to share our FIRST PODCAST!!! Actually, it is a new audio workshop! I have been praying for over a year about how we could bring our workshops and more audio feed to our online mommy pals. If you are like me, you are already HOOKED on online audios! I LOVE podcasts and downloading goodies to my MP3 player to carry with me on trips and to exercise! Because of my addiction, I have been reading EVERYTHING I could get my hands on that could TRY (some better than others) to explain how to do it! Well beloved friends, God has really blessed us richly! We have some very neat things in the works! AND...best news! We NOW can do it! :)

 

This is a TOTAL MIRACLE! You have to go back in time with me...my dad and husband have always been my heroes, saving me when the computer gets too complicated. One day, they were joking around at my GREAT GIFT to make computers crash and programs fail--hummm... Well, Daddy coined a NEW NAME for me that day. He called me  (lovingly, of course) his "computer crash dummy" (seen those commercials for the car crash dummies?). He said that Microsoft should hire me to test their programs! hehe!

 

Well, bring that funny memory fast-forward! :)

 

We have NOW got a new website! AND...I did it ALL BY MYSELF! AND there is MORE...it features our NEW online audio feeds and another option for those of you who would like to receive our ezines directly to your desktop! :) Yes, our new website has RSS feed (more on that in a bit!). You can add us to your RSS receivers and receive our goodies FREE directly to your desktop! WOohoo! This is such a delight! Actually, we were only planning to have the audio podcast, but with the problems with AOL/YAHOO, we decided to use it for even more--our e-zines too! Oh! Just keep reading! I have so much to tell you!

 

Before I jump in, I want to be sure to let all of you know about some updates with AOL/YAHOO. First, thanks to all of you who have helped me with this transfer. I do not want to lose any of you. You are all so very priceless! I am so grateful that you don't mind helping me through the snags! :) We have many neat new treats coming soon. In fact, one comes as a result of this problem! God is sooo good! Below are some emails from AOL and YAHOO. Also, there are some good options for some of you. In fact, others of you may want to consider some of these options as well! :)

 

Before I get into all of the emails, I do want to let you all know that we are now set up for RSS feed. You can be sure to never miss an issue by adding a RSS RECEIVER to your desktop. Then, you can add our feeds directly to your receiver. MORE on that below.Sounds hard, but it is EASY! Sooo, stick with me! :)

 

ABOUT AOL/YAHOO...

Many of you received some very interesting feedback from AOL/YAHOO. They have been rather deceptive in their emails. They have shared with several of our subscribers some very INTERESTING things! On some emails they are completely denying or avoiding the acknowledgement. On others, they change the subject. On others, they completely lie.  It is apparent that the answers depend upon how you ask the question...however, YES, they are implementing a program CERTIFIED EMAIL that will require businesses/ministries that send "commercial" emails to pay per email being sent into their AOL/YAHOO customers. Let me share a few emails that I have gotten:

 

Cindy sent me this email between her and AOL...

AOL Wrote to Cindy...

To clarify the issue, the article states that AOL may begin charging businesses a 1-cent fee to send commercial e-mail to AOL members. This is part of AOL's continued effort to protect our members from spam or unsolicited e-mail. Please note that the article is not suggesting that AOL members will be charged for each e-mail they send. Be assured that sending e-mail will continue to be free for AOL members.

 

Cindy Wrote to AOL...

That is all well and good but this is a homeschooling list that I requested to be placed as a member.  This is not a spam list.    As far as being free to members AOL email is not free.  I pay a premium price to belong to AOL.  I enjoy the perks and the ease of use provided.  To say we get free email is pretty funny considering the price we pay for membership compared to other companies.  I hope AOL reconsiders this policy.  I have paid to receive these emails with my membership.  I appreciate the work to stop SPAM but this smells to me as more of a way of turning another dollar off your members.

 

MY NOTE...

Yes, Cindy, you did a super job of addresses some of my personal complaints here! THANKS! Yes, they DO consider emails such as mine commercial. It looks as though they are using the "excuse" of spam or unsolicited email protection to "cover-up" the reason that they are doing this. Hummm...give it another year and we will probably see reports on TV of their wonderful business ideas and record profits! UGH!

 

This has VERY significant ramifications. It is not just MY emails to any of you. This will probably mean that AOL/YAHOO customers will not be able to receive email ezines from many other sources. The ones who would be able to afford something like this are the very ones that should not be sending out emails to you. They will pay whatever it takes to advertise and spam people. This hurts small companies/ministries who have a heart to encourage you on a regular basis. Not only does this affect AOL/YAHOO customers, but in the long-run, it will affect other companies who pattern their practices after these "big-dogs." Thanks Cindy for doing your part to stand up for what is right! :)

 

This one completely denies/deceptively avoids detailing the down-side of this new policy...

> There is a tremendous amount of misinformation floating around about
> CertifiedEmail and the implications of such a program.  AOL has no plans of
> terminating the whitelist and your delivery should remain unaffected.  We
> are working diligently to set the record straight and provide the
> information people need to better understand this program.  CertifiedEmail
> is an enhanced email solution offering detailed reporting, automatically
> enabled links and images and more.
> --
> Charles E. Stiles
> Postmaster/Sr. Tech. Mgr.
> Mail Operations, America Online
> 12100 Sunrise Valley Dr, Reston, VA 20191
> email: stilesch@aol.com ph: 703-265-4864 c:703-220-6530

MY NOTE:

Glen, my service administrator, sent this to me. This is exactly what the article said--well, except for AOL is denying the implications of their program.

 

First, they are not acknowledging that Christian services are already having problems getting emails into the email boxes of their subscribers. We did not address this struggle in the fall when Glen went to bat for hundreds of Christian ministries whose emails were being bounced by AOL. AOL was very rude and would not help him in spite of his efforts to prove that his service included reputable groups. So, the first thing that they are not acknowledging is the struggle that we have behind the scenes to get emails into AOL customers.

 

Secondly, this "enhanced email solution" DOES have a big problem. Emails that we send have many links and images that are part of our ezine. These will not appear to AOL customers without our company paying for the "enhanced email solution." This would drastically affect many email magazines.

 

ONLY those who register and sign up for this "enhanced email solution"  by PAYING for this service will be able to get their emails delivered "reliably" to AOL/YAHOO customers. This is our problem with this. We cannot afford to send our ezine for FREE if we have to pay AOL and YAHOO for our subscribers to "possibly" get the emails. Not only would we have to pay AOL and YAHOO, but if we offered our subscriptions to AOL/YAHOO customers, we would ALSO have to change our service to another company since Glen said that my service will not be providing service to AOL/YAHOO addresses when this goes into effect. We simply cannot do this. This service that we use is a wonderful Christian company. Their service is priceless to us! Before we chose this service for sending our emails, I spent almost a year researching what we would use. This is the ONLY protected service that we found that would not harvest addresses and spam our subscribers. It also has been wonderful to never require ads or excessive fees. While our ministry completely values our subscribers, we cannot express how much this would affect what we are doing online to minister.

 

This was sent from AOL to Talya...

 

From AOL:

Free e-mail will still be accepted, but there will be no guarantee that it will find its way through the spam filters and into users' inboxes. In the case of AOL, free e-mail is also likely to be delivered without included images and URLs.

Talya wrote...

The fee is optional in order to guarantee that your email bypasses the spam filtering system.  If you don't pay the fee, aol and yahoo subscribers will continue to receive it the way they had been receiving it all along, which may mean they need to add you to their address book or check their spam folder on a regular basis.:-)  Here is a quote from an article on Yahoo.com regarding the matter -- "Companies that don't want to pay a fee will be able to send e-mail to Yahoo and AOL members exactly as they have in the past, Graham and Mahon said."  (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060206/ap_on_hi_te/e_mail_fee)

 

In light of this, I would ask you not to delete aol and yahoo subscribers.  I have never had a problem receiving your emails because you are in my address book.  I sincerely hope this helps.

 

MY NOTE:

I certainly do not ever plan to delete any of our precious subscribers. Yes, this fee is optional, but again, "there is no guarantee that it will find its way through the spam filters and into users' inboxes." In addition, it will not appear to AOL customers as it is sent--with graphics and links--unless the sender pays AOL/YAHOO for it to appear the way that they send it. I cannot express how this would change our emails. We add so many freebies o